Change of Heart REDUX EDITION!
by Damian Lovat
Summary: As promised, a REDUX EDITION! of Change of Heart is being written. New powers, new characters, and new plots are in store!
1. Chapter 0: The Angel Experiment

**-Being my first story on my REDUX EDITION! list, Change of Heart will be my first rewritten work. I have over fifteen new chapters planned, with far more history with each character involved, including new characters and involvement. Also, Damian has been nerfed, as he, as I have come to realize, is rather overpowered. Well, I hope you enjoy the new Damian!-**

Chapter 0: The Angel Experiment

It was cold. That's all I could remember.

The whitecoats always referred to me as 44619. It was 43992 that gave me my name. She was older than me, but I'm not sure by how much. Maybe seven, eight years. I'm sure she's dead now, but I won't let that hold me back. I never knew any sort of name she went by, and all I knew about her augmentation was that, like me, she had been winged. But I do know that she guaranteed my survival, at least past the expectancy point. My expiration date, so to speak.

I was seven, I think. Somewhere around that age. The white little surgery gown I wore didn't do much to block out the New York winter chill. I'm not sure why laboratories and research facilities never turn the damn heater on, it sure couldn't hurt. Anyway, the temperature only made the metal floor of my crate that much more unbearable. I wasn't sleeping that night, I can assure you. I was careful, trying to avoid skin contact with the floor and walls as much as possible. I had gotten shots that day, my weekly injection of whatever-the-hell. It always made me dizzy, as if I spun around about ten times and suddenly stopped myself. My head would ring for the next day, and the world was never quite sitting still. I vomited a few times, and the whitecoats would drag me out, clean the crate, spray me down with this foam solution that burned a little, then stuffed me right back in. I threw up again on that night, but the ritual was not in full circle like always.

"Hey! Hey, assholes! The kid's gone and puked again! Ya gonna do somethin' 'bout that?"

That was 43992. She, unlike most of us, who had no idea what to think about the whitecoats, hated the resident scientists. She was their "problem child", I heard one of the 'loguers (that's what 43992 called the scientist that kept up lists of who was new, who was old, he was dead, and who was still alive) remark. But she had an interest in me, one I imagine an older sister would have for their little brother. She would sneak in food for me whenever they let her out to eat, seeing as her diet had to be rearranged due to her growth.

"What, ya too busy stickin' yer thumbs up yer asses!? Ah said he's gone and pu-"

One of the double doors at the end of the room flung open, a whitecoat skidding across the floor. 43992 let out a short gasp, which was followed by rushed footsteps echoing from outside the door.

"Damian, git yer head down! Back 'way from the door!"

The other test subjects, confused, followed her orders, as did I. The footsteps grew louder, and indistinct voices were carrying on with an indistinct conversation. Bracing myself for a potential attack, I curled into myself tightly, awaiting the sound of gunfire.

"Start popping locks! Get all of them out of here!"

The voice sounded like 43992, so I looked up, only to see a group of kids, ranging from my age to 43992's, outside, pulling at locks and kicking open doors. The owner of that voice as looked like 43992, but with different clothes. Well, with clothes in general, as we were all in our white robes. With both sets of ears, my human ones and my Norwegian Forrest Cat pair, I could hear someone opening locks and moving toward me. I couldn't see them until they stepped right in front of my crate. They were male, with dark hair and sharp features, his nose slightly crooked, as if it had been recently broken. He struggled with my lock, looking back at the leader girl.

"Max, can I get some help here?"

"Really? The enigmatic Fang can't open a little lock?"

"Don't push it. This thing's more than a few twists of metal. They really didn't want this one getting out."

"I don't get it. He's just a little kid."

"This is Itex we're talking about, Max. Anything' possib-"

"Y'all jus' gonna bicker, or are ya gonna git him out!?"

Both of the two turned to 43992, opening their mouths to speak but thinking better of it. The male tapped the shoulder of another male, this one with sandy blonde hair and pale skin. The dark-haired male guided the blonde one to my crate, who lifted his hands up, running them along the lock. I assumed he was blind, as his eyes weren't even on the lock he was handling. However, after about a minute of fondling the metal structure, the lock came loose, and my door was opened.

"Alright, kid, come on out. I don't bite. Hard."

I must have had an apprehensive look on my face, because he sighed and lifted me from my crate. I could see that some of the other subjects were having a hard time standing, as we spent very little time standing, and that statement only applied to those of us allowed out of our crates. My feet touched the ground, and I trudged over to 43992. Right then, she was the only one I felt safe with, the only one I wanted to see. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders, rubbing her hand on my arm.

"'Salright, Damian. They're gettin' us outta here."

I would have taken solace in that if I didn't see the guards running down the hall. 42992 grabbed my wrist and ran for the other set of double doors, followed by the newcomers and the other test subjects. We ran for what seemed like an hour, with sirens sounding and guards running all over the building. In the chaos, 43992 and I got separated, and I found myself cornered by a guard. I tried my best to persuade him, but my mental abilities had not yet developed fully. He resisted my suggestions and grabbed my arms, which resulted in arms wrapping around his torso and swinging him away. I backed myself into the corner again, watching 43992 struggle against the guard, failing to stop as he knocked her aside. Fear and rage began rising within me, and I could feel my entire existence caving in and expanding simultaneously, just as my muscles were now beginning to do, collapsing and growing, wrapping themselves around my bones in ways they shouldn't have. My skin grew irritated as the growing fur reached up towards my eyes, and fangs shot from my gums as the guard cowered in fear. He had hurt my sister, and there was no way I'd let something like that pass by me. He looked small now, and he was small. A miserable little man who I would destroy in my hands.

"_DAMIAN!_"

I snarled and turned back, only to find myself growling at 43992. She was frightened at this metamorphosis, just as I was starting to understand what I just did. Fear rose again, this time without the rage, and I bolted, ripping doors from hinges and slamming guards into walls into my fur met with the soft snowflakes of the New York winter. My muscles were untying themselves as I continued to run, hearing words shouted that I knew I should have ignored. Words not meant for my ears.

"You killed your brother!"


	2. Chapter 1: On Earth As It Is In Heaven

**-How'd you guys like that little backstory for Damian? And are you wondering about that weird transformation? You'll have to wait! It's going to be a new plot in this REDUX EDITION!**-

Chapter 1: On Earth As It Is In Heaven

Ohio is easily the most boring fucking place I've ever been.

The tree I had picked up residence in was a deciduous one, and the Ohio autumn had left its leaves that orange and yellow that look beautiful in the fall, but absolutely hideous elsewhere. Or eslewhen? Hell if I know. This tree was a comfortable one, though, in comparison to the many I had slept in. I'm not sure why I always picked trees, as opposed to bushes or park playgrounds. I guessed it's that Norwegian Forrest Cat in me that just wants to climb them, but research showed me that they were massive cats that enjoyed sitting around being fed a lot more than climbing trees and doing other general cat stuff.

Cat stuff. Something I was seriously on the verge of doing in this fun sinkhole.

Boredom is something I was used to, but even in places like Itex labs, there was _some_ variation in the monotony. Ohio? For God's sake, just to have a little fun, the passed a law that prohibited whaling in the state. Ohio, mind you, is _landlocked_. Unless you brought a harpoon with you to Sea World on a regular basis, that law's not going to affect _anyone_. I guess Shamoo can sleep a little more easily tonight, though.

To express how far into boredom I was sinking, I went to church. Freaking church. A place I know I don't belong. I wanted to laugh each time I was told that I was a creation of God. Additionally, an usher tried to make take off the hat I wore to hide my ears. I told him that if he wanted to see the result of chemotherapy, then go ahead. But instead of him awkwardly shuffling away, as I had hoped for, I had the whole church laying their hands on my, spouting gibberish that they referred to as "speaking in tongues", and crying tears of divine joy. Dumbasses.

Through the crying and the unwelcome physical contact, I could see figures behind the windows, two of them speaking to one another. A male and a female. They seemed to be arguing with each other until the male threw hi arms up and turned away. The female began to follow him, but she stopped her in tracks, turning around and walking in the opposite direction.

This distraction only gave me a few seconds of freedom from the feely hands and the promises of grandeur. If Christians wanted to bring people in, they shouldn't act in ways one could mistake for rape when being described to them.

Anyway, church was a bust, and my next step would be to find something, _anything_ else to do. So I returned to my tree and sat there, hoping something would just drift my way.

It came speeding through the fallen leaves about twenty minutes after I had sat down. Some sort of predator, I presumed. Potentially an Eradicator, the name I'd given the robotic Eraser replacements. I jumped down, cracking my neck and my knuckles, yawning as I stepped into a lazy battle stance. I had fallen to the point that, even in the presence of potential danger, I just didn't give much of a crap. It wouldn't have been so bad if Eradicators weren't so easy to dismantle. Whatever the thing was, it knew I was here, and it knew I was aware of its presence. Its course changed quickly and erratically, leaves flying in every which direction in its wake. My eyes followed the wake of the leaves, the only thing I could see. This thing wasn't running, I'd hear the footsteps. No, it was flying, and only two things did that at such a low altitude: experiments and Eradicators. My interest was beginning to stir a little more, and I straightened up, waiting for it to change course once more. It took a sharp turn towards me, and I unfurled my own wings, taking off and flying head-on into it. I stretched my arms out and grabbed it, feeling fabric as I twirled in the air, colliding with the ground, the thing on top of me. I looked up and immediately felt embarrassed.

Mostly because I was holding a girl by the wrists, forcing her on top of me. And I thought the Christians sounded kind of rape-y.

I let her stand, but kept a good hold of her shirt sleeve.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

_You will let me go._

I was taken aback. This girl, like myself, was of the winged variety, and possessed telekinetic abilities, including persuasion. I smirked, and stared her in her doe-like blue eyes.

_Not until you tell me who you are._

She froze and tried to tug away, but I wasn't going to let someone who could possibly put me in the position of lifespan shortening. Rolling her shoulders and releasing a defeated sigh, she looked at me with a facial expression of shame.

"My name's Angel. I… I was looking for a place to spend the night."

Looking away, she showed her side profile, allowing me to recognize her as the girl at the church.

"The guy. Where is he?"

"What guy?"

"That you were at the church with."

"That was my brother. We're… not on speaking terms, I guess you could say."

"But where is he?"

"Don't get all pissed off at me. We're both running for the same reason, I'm sure, and I haven't heard a single thing about you!"

I shook my head, looking down a bit. I hadn't thought of that possibility yet. Embarrassed, I spoke.

"Name's Damian. I'm alone, and just traveling aimlessly. Those things, the robot ones, do they follow you?"

"Which ones? The Flyboys or the M-Geeks?"

"Excuse me?"

"The normal robots or the ones that look like Erasers?"

"The Eraser ones. I call them Eradicators, and they've been following me for quite some time. It sounds like you've seen them, too."

"Yeah. It looks like Itex decided to recall its products."

I shuddered. Itex had lost a lot of subjects in the raid I had been a part of, and if they wanted us all back…?

"Where you headed?"

"North, into Quebec if possible. And you?"

"I was thinking about Ontario."

Honestly, I was slinging shit. I had no plan whatsoever, but if Itex was on a witch hunt, now would be a damn good time to find a person to partner up with.

"If you want, we can travel together. At least until we hit the Canadian border. That we, neither of us get sneaked up on."

She stood for a few seconds, mulling it over before nodding, her blonde curls bouncing long after her head had moved.

"Okay. Okay…"

- **Hey! Sorry for the shorter chapters, it's around midnight right now, and I wanted to get this done before work tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it. Until next time, folks!** -


	3. Chapter 2: Sound and Fury

**-I don't have much to say this time. I don't know, maybe you could leave a review or such? Feedback is always appreciated!**-

Chapter 2: Sound and Fury

It's amazing how many people can look straight up at the sky and miss a pair of flying humans. I mean, it isn't exactly like we were hiding ourselves. I remember the newscasts of that winged teenaged girl standing up for mutant equality and awareness in the world, so mutant activity wasn't all that weird. It wasn't totally the norm yet, but we weren't freaks. But how people can just miss us is beyond me.

Angel and I had flown north into Lansing, Michigan by our second day of traveling. Not much had happened in the time in between then. A squirrel had slept on my face in one of the trees we stopped in, which prompted a rude awakening for both the little mammal and myself. And then there was this homeless guy wandering the park who collapsed onto his knees when he saw us. He started crying, begging for us to come to his aide. I was opposed to the idea, but Angel convinced me to follow her, and I'm thankful for it now. The man was a vet from Afghanistan, and upon returning home, he was met by divorce papers and an illegitimate child. His wife had taken everything, and when rent came up, his was kicked to the curb. He saw us, thinking that we were angels, and begged us to take him with us back to the sky, because another day in this hell on Earth would be his last. It was my call to play along with the angel role, and we convinced him that better times were ahead. We walked him to the closest halfway home, which was the best that we could do, and, with our "ethereal" charm, convinced the landlord to let him in. Angel had given him "God's blessing", something I'm sure he actually needed.

Perhaps Christians aren't that bad of people, but there are some pretty strange churches out there.

We touched down in Lansing, like I said, about a day after that. Angel's argument with her brother, however, had me running circles in my mind. If they both knew about Itex's swift recall, wouldn't they want to stay together, despite whatever disagreements they had? I still didn't exactly trust Angel, but I teamed up with her because we had a common enemy. Why wouldn't her brother do the same?

"So… Angel. What's the deal with your brother? I mean, he's family, right? Family shouldn't just turn their backs on each other, right?"

"Yeah, but it happens all the time."

She was clearly upset, crossing her arms and avoiding my gaze. I held my hands up in a display of I'll-back-off, instead walking towards the gas station door we'd settled on stopping at to look for a map and maybe some food I could jack. I stepped in, a little bell chiming as I entered. I asked the cashier to get me a map, stuffing gum and candy bars into my jacket pockets as his back was turned. He produced the requested item and handed it to me, and I thanked him, stepped through the doorway, and waited for the alarm to go off. When it didn't, I let loose a sigh of relief and walked backed to Angel, who was petting some guy's Scottish Terrier, baby talking the canine and rubbing its stomach.

"…and his name was Total. He's staying in Alaska with my relative's an-"

"Hey, Angel."

She stood and turned to face me, still smiling from the encounter with the dog.

"Sorry. It's just that the little guy reminds me of a dog I used to have. Total was sooo cute!"

"That's nice, but isn't there somewhere we should be?"

Angel mock pouted and turned back to the man, waving to him and petting the Terrier one last time.

"Bye!"

I couldn't help but smirk at the way Angel acted around the dog as we walked away. The whole trip, she was more or less neutral in every possible way, at the most showing either a miniscule smile or a look of disagreement.

"So, uh… your dog was important to you, huh? Your brother give him to you?"

"Well, no. We got him in New York a few years ago. He wasn't a normal dog by any means, though. He was tested on. He could jump to massive heights, grew wings, and, well… he could talk. I guess he was more a part of my family than a pet."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back up! Did you just say that your dog talked?"

One of her blonde eyebrows crawled upward about a centimeter or two, a quizzical look growing across her face.

"You've been experimented on and given wings, attacked by flying wolfmen and robots, and a talking dog surprises you?"

"In all fairness, I had never met a talking dog. And I'm pretty user he wasn't like Brian or Scooby-Doo."

"He was a bit of a smartass, to be honest."

Would you look at that! Miss Right and Proper just let out some swearing!

"I gue-"

"_By the power within our veins!_"

"What?"

"_And the fleeting wishes in our hearts!_"

Angel and I, understandably confused, turned to face the two overly dramatic voices, only to find some fangirl's dream: two shirtless, well toned teenaged guys holding impossibly large swords stood in a generic anime-esque pose, both of them pointing at us. They pulled back their weapons and charged with reckless abandon, one of the worst strategies I have ever seen. I saw Angel leap into the air to dodge her attacker, who had a physics-defying hairstyle full of pointless spikes, while I slid down and knocked down my assailant, who had an X-shaped scar over his left eye. These guys were going all out.

"Just what the hell are you guys supposed to be? I mean, a lame battle cry with no meaning, scientifically impossible hairstyles, big-ass swords, and Photoshopped abs? Someone's been watching a little too much anime if you ask me. Great cosplay, though!"

My attacker got up, visible enraged by my mockery. He used his sword to regain his stance, needlessly screaming to his partner who stood a mere five feet from him.

"Sound!"

The spiky-haired one ran up to the other one's side, and they both held their weapons up skyward, each using only one hand. They spoke in unison, moving their swords right in front of them.

"_Sound and Fury: Double Bass Blast!"_

"Are you fucking kidding m-"

From the two weapons spawned a massive sound wave, the concussive waves knocking Angel and I against the wall of the gas station minimart. I held my head, standing back up and looking at our attackers. It was difficult to keep myself from vomiting, and the ringing in my ears wasn't helping. The one I believed to be called Fury walked up to me, spouting out some generic heroic phrases about how evil shall be vanquished and whatnot. He lifted hi sword, and I tackled him again, this time knocking the sword from his hands. It hit the ground with a _swring!_ that sounded like the chime of a bell, the sound resonating like a well-tuned chime. I stood, kicking Fury in the ribs as I did so, half expected him to scream in pain like any overly dramatic anime hero would. Sound rushed for me with his sword, so I lifted Fury's from the ground, shocked at how light it was. Sound dropped the sword down, edge first, at my head, which I, quite literally, deflected with the broad side of my own. The result was a sound wave that knocked Sound backward about three feet, but also resulted in him vomiting once he stood still. Fury now rose, pushing me over and grabbing the sword back. However, it was obvious that he was now retreating, as he limped over to his cohort, rubbing his back to relieve that sickness.

"Let's go, Sound. The coats won't be too thrilled to hear about this."

I snorted at this and ran to grab them, but they just… vanished. It had to be Itex tech, like some sort of prototype teleportation system. But would they just give to some Dongan Ronpa rejects? And those swords also had to be of an Itex design. I bet they were hollow, too.

Angel stumbled over to me, holding her head with one hand and her stomach with her other.

"Ugh… it's like listening to bad dubstep…"

I chuckled a bit and helped her walk straight, hand on her shoulder as I handed her a Snickers bar and opened up the map.

"Itex is getting a bit desperate, huh?"

-**Who are these wannabe shonen boys? And why has Itex employed them? I suggest you keep reading if you want to know! Until then, read, review, and enjoy!**-


	4. Chapter 3: A Life So Reckless

-**An anime wannabe attack? Where'd that come from? Please tell me in the comment section if you would like to see more of Sound and Fury!***-

Chapter 3: A Life So Reckless

_I'm running._

_The leaves blow past me as I sprint, not certain of the reason or the destination, but I know that I can't stop. Something will happen, but I'm not sure what. Fear swells up, and it stays there, steadily increasing as I traverse further and further. I can hear it now; something is following me. It's at this point that I realize that I'm just asleep, and that this is just some twisted dream, but my brain refuses to listen to me and keeps me trapped in this hell._

_The footsteps behind grow louder, but not necessarily closer. I see that the path I am taking ends at a stream, and that I might be able to run across it if I could get there in time. I push myself forward, trying to ignore the burn of lactic acid fermenting in my muscles. The thing lets out a roar, like a warning shot, and the footsteps quicken. A chill crawls up my spine as I hear this. I make it to the stream, but claws rip the back of my shirt, slicing into my skin. I fall in my pain, crashing into the water and the rocks under it. I push myself up and catch a glimpse of my reflection, confused and horrified to see that the person on the water is not me, but Angel. The thing roars again, and I turn just in time to see a flash of black fur lunge at me._

I woke with a start, my breath short and my eyes wide. The night was still young, and the moon, waning, stared down at me, as if it were taunting me, trying to get me to fall back asleep and experience it again. I shook the thought from my mind, looking across from my branch to see how Angel was fairing in the tree across from me. She was asleep, as expected, snoring faintly like a kitten would, one that'd gone through the day, hard at play, and now just couldn't stand up. This put my mind at peace, though I wasn't going to be falling asleep again that night.

My mind drifted back to the fight from earlier that day. Those two anime freaks had some pretty damn good weaponry. Hollow, sound wave-inducing bastard swords and a long-range teleportation unit? Well, I assumed it was long range, anyway. These had to have been the creations of either Itex or one of its sister corporations. But why they would entrust such amazing weaponry with those Fairy Tail rejects was beyond my comprehension. Why not give them to, I don't know, a pair of their superhuman experiments? I shook my head, pushing the issue aside for the next day. I was bored again, and it had been a while since I heard any good music. I've always hated my voice, but when I get desperate, I bust out those golden pipes, no matter how rusted they were.

Tonight's repertoire consisted of a Papa Roach song, entitled Lifeline. It was pretty fitting of myself, I think, revolving around a young man who had gone through his life carelessly and was finally at the end of his rope. The only difference, though, would have to be that the song's issues were about pushing away family and friends, where as mine were mutants hell-bent on either killing or capturing me. The former was more likely, as I certainly wasn't the only winged experiment that existed. Besides, I wouldn't let them take me alive. They could do whatever they felt with my corpse, but keep my mortality out of it.

Anyway, I thought I did a pretty decent job on the singing, so I sat up on my branch and peered over at Angel, whose eyes I saw quickly shut when I looked in her direction. I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that she heard my singing. This was usually, no, always, a private thing, and now little miss perfect just listened in on me. Part of me was angry, but another part was… glad. I'm not sure why, but I felt a little better about someone listening to me. I guess it may have been because I had someone to actually pay attention to me, other than in terms of tearing me limb from limb.

_You were pretty good._

A sheepish smile found its way on my face. The feedback was proof of my last assumption, that I just wanted someone to listen. I relaxed and leaned back, ignoring the warmth growing on my face.

Thanks. I… normal don't sing. I just got tired of not listening to any for such a long time. Have you ever been away for music for massive amounts of time?

_Yeah. You feel like you're going to go crazy, right?_

_Yeah. Hey, Angel?_

_Yes?_

_If you don't mind me asking, what's the deal with you and your brother? I mean, if you were both tested on, which I assume is the case, why wouldn't you stick together, especially with Itex doing what it's doing?_

She let out a sigh before she spoke, the steam from her breath visible from my point of view.

_I… I wanted to meet up with some old friends. He wasn't too keen on the idea. He thought they put me through too much when we were younger, but I thought that getting everyone together would have been the best option. I… I tried to convince him, but he just wouldn't come._

_And do you know where these friends are?_

_One of them. He's in Quebec, and that's why I'm heading there. You… wouldn't mind coming with me, would you? It's just, with the Itex attacks and all, I'd much rather travel with someone, you know?_

I didn't need to contemplate the pros and cons of traveling with another person. And if there could be more of us?

_Of course. Strength in numbers, am I right?_

_Yeah, I guess._

I sat up straight on my branch, trying to get comfortable, a feat I could barely consider possible. I had a wood knot stuck against one of my left ribs and a leaf stuck in my right sleeve, not to mention the fact that a trail of ants was climbing up and down the tree just inches from my face.

Fuck it. I can't sleep.

I looked up at the sky, watching stars, plane, and satellites circle around the world as they pleased. Well, not the stars, but you get the point. This would be a long night, but one with the knowledge that I wouldn't be alone, if only for a while.

Somewhere between the stargazing and the stick that was poking my ass, I fell asleep. I woke up to Angel stuffing her face with one of the chocolate bars I made off with the day before, looking like a chipmunk with her cheeks puffed out and full. She saw me seconds later and her face turned a deep crimson. I let loose a small laugh as she struggled to finish eating without doing so, too. She swallowed the sweet treat and then started laughing as well, leaning back on her branch, laughing hard enough that she was shaking violently. I'm not sure what it is about the early morning, but at around four o'clock, as it was just about, anything was funny. I'm pretty sure that feeling you get at that time is the same way one feels when they've just smoked their second joint.

We stayed in our park for a few more hours, just sitting around, telling a few jokes, sharing a few stories, until we got ready for the flight toward Quebec.

…

"I told you we should've snook up on 'em!"

"'Snook' isn't a word, dumbass!"

"You get the point! We should've come up from behind!"

"And I was supposed to know they'd get one of the swords how?"

"By thin-"

"Silence! Both of you!"

Sound and Fury simultaneously gulped as they faced their employer, literally shaking in their shoes. This man was intimidating, with his six-foot-five frame and well-cleaned business suit. He cracked his knuckles before letting out a sigh, staring down both of the fanboys before him.

"Your incompetence from yesterday's assignment has brought a few glaring issues to my attention. First, you cannot deal with a simple, unarmed mutant who did not even use his known capabilities against you. This task should not have proven to be difficult by any means. Second…"

The tall man took a folder off of his desk, pulling out papers and photographs, placing each one down singly as he spoke.

"Your list of prior employers is full of massive holes, to say the least. You have listed the groups Organization XIII, the Soul Society, the Fairy Tail Guild, and the Guardian Units of Nations as your past employers. Each of these organizations exist solely in cartoons or video games. Do either of you care to explain this, because, quite frankly, how you thought listing any of these would be a good idea is beyond my understanding."

"I told you we should've put down some real places!"

"Yeah, but those would've come up false!"

"But at least we'd ge-"

"Silence! Now, listen to me closely; Itex wants these mutants as much as we do, and we cannot afford to let them beat us to the punch. The sole reason you are still under our employment is because of your exceptional skills in wielding the prototype resonators and our light-speed transport system. Otherwise, I would have sent agents for your termination days ago. I want those mutants. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Should you fail me again, may whatever deity you believe have mercy on your souls. You are dismissed."

The two saluted their employer, giving him a salute ripped right from Attack on Titan. The tall man simply shook his head, his face in his right hand. As the two left his office, he slid the papers back into the folder, turning around to look out of his window, overlooking the Brazilian landscape. Wendigo would _not_ be bested by Itex again, or any more, for that matter. Not while he still had a breath in his lungs and a bullet in the chamber.

And Wendigo would certainly _not_ allow Itex to survive once they had their hands on the last part, the final specimen, for their data banks.

-**Alrighty! So, we've got an entirely new corporation, one that rivals Itex! What'll this entail? And how is Damian a part of this? Read, review, and enjoy for your next chapter! Also, I would like to add that, in the comment section, if you are to give me a brief summary of an original character of your own, and I like the concept of said character, I will send you a private message asking for permission to use that character, giving you credit of course. I would like to take submissions to help shape this story! Enjoy!**-


	5. Chapter 4: In The Land of the Blind

-**What is Wendigo, exactly? Do I really need to tell you what to do to find out? Also, it has been brought to my attention that I have forgotten to put a disclaimer in my first chapter, so here it is: DISCLAIMER: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride, not me. I only own original characters inserted into this story that I have NOT given their creators credit to.**-

Chapter 4: In the Land of the Blind

Honestly, I'd never left the United States. I never thought I'd say this in my life, nor do I think anyone else has said this, but Canada was intimidating to me.

The flight took maybe two and a half hours. It was odd to me, illegally crossing a national border, but, like nearly all immigrants, I had a very valid reason to do so. Angel told me next to nothing about the person we were meeting, not even their name. All I knew was that they were male and that they were avian subjects, like us. Well, I guess with the whole mutant awareness thing, subject would be kind of an insensitive slur. Either way, this was all I knew, so this was sailing in dangerous waters. Dangerous, uncharted waters.

Canada wasn't nearly as boring as I thought it would be. In Quebec alone, there were a good twenty well-known destinations that were as equal in interest as another. To be honest, I tried to get Angel to relent so that we'd go to the Plains of Abraham, but she was dead-set on finding her ally. I'd asked her about the group she was in, curious as to who this girl I was traveling with was. They called themselves The Flock, and they'd apparently done a lot, some of which I wasn't sure I had believed. They were led by Maximum Ride, a name I remember from newscasts and radio shows. It was because of Ride that mutants were now members of the general public. And the world wasn't quite sure if that was a blessing or a curse yet.

We had to do some asking around in some shady places, which made me worried. The first place we approached was a strip club, something I was seriously questioning Angel about.

"Uh… We're, y'know, fifteen. Why are we going in here, and how are we going to do so?"

Angel's face had a pinkish tint to it, hinting that she was just as uncomfortable with this as I was.

"Well, we both have the ability of persuasion, right? And secondly… my friend is kind of… on shaky moral ground, if you understand."

"Oh."

This information didn't make it any less awkward. We walked past an entire line and by the security detail, walking into a den of sin. We were met by the heavy bass from the speakers and girls dancing about stage, polls, and the room in general, teasing the weak-minded men in the room for a few extra bills. Drinks were being carried by the girls that didn't exactly make the cut for the limelight, but could still make more than enough in tips if their patrons were drunk enough to look past that.

Angel had been reaching out with her mind for the right person to guide us to her friend, where as I was trying to get my mind out of the gutter. She grabbed me by the wrist, sighing as she pulled me out of sight from the stage. Dragging me along, we ended up next to a bald man who was currently receiving a lap dance from a girl in a white tiger print thong that I paid a little too much attention to. Angel gave her a look that said _beat it, skank_ (and I'm pretty sure that's what she actually told her, too), leaving us alone with the gentleman.

"I paid twenty for that dance! You better have a good reason for that!"

He was American, which surprised me. He stood from his seat, drinking from his martini glass and looking at us.

"You're a bunch of kids! Get out of here! Scram!"

"You know someone we're looking for. You're going to tell us where he is."

I raised an eyebrow at Angel, wondering just when she gained both the power and confidence to speak so boldly. She had a no-nonsense look on her face before she smirked, which caused the man's eyes to widen.

"Yes, and I'm sure your darling Jamie would be devastated to find out, am I right? I mean, the bond between sisters is meant to be sacred."

"Fine! Fine, what do you want?"

"A mutant. Male, winged, American. Frequents clubs."

"You're looking for One-Eyed Jack? You've got some nerves to do that. He's gotten everyone's money in one way or another, and he's got the backup to keep it that way. What'd he do? Rip you off? A family member? A friend?"

"No. We're just some old friends looking for company, for old time's sake."

"I find that awfully damn hard to believe, but I'll tell you."

He pulled out a pen and wrote down an address on a napkin before handing it to us.

"Apartment 1326. He'll be there around four and five in the afternoon."

"Thank you, sir."

"Hey, you, uh, you're not going to tell my wife, now, are you?"

Angel smirked and turned around, walking towards the door.

"I don't have to. She's standing outside."

Laughing, she continued on her way with me trailing behind. I couldn't help but think of how scary she was when she wanted to be. We stepped out, and, true to her word, stood a woman in a blue business suit, looking livid and pacing in place. Angel chuckled, tapping the woman on the shoulder and pointing inside.

"He's in there like a sitting duck. Go and pounce."

The look a person had when they had a terrible idea and they didn't care grew on the woman, who threw her arms down and run inside. Angel continued to laugh, making me even more nervous.

"You, uh, you okay there, Angel?"

"Never better! Wow, I never imagined this to be so much fun! Hey, wanna go back in there after a while? Maybe buy you a dance?"

My eyes bulged and my face burned, which prompted Angel to laugh even more, almost maniacally.

"I'm just messing with you! C'mon, we've got a friend to meet up with!"

I laughed nervously and snapped my wings open just after Angel did, running forward and taking off.

…

We landed in the apartment complex about twenty minutes later, walking in and, after getting lost a few times, found the building that was supposed to house our guy. We only made it about halfway up the stairs to Apartment 1326 when we heard a woman praising an individual for their carnal capabilities, the passionate shouts of ecstasy bringing back that awkwardness once more. Angel and I stood outside the door until we figured that those inside were finished with their… action, stepping aside as the woman stepped out of the door, adjusting her top as she walked out. We knocked on the door, and, after a few seconds, our man came out. He was shirtless, wearing just a pair of jeans and a pair of sunglasses. His hair was a sandy blonde, and his muscle build showed that he at least worked out a bit. His wings were also visible. They had maybe a twenty-foot span, but I didn't care to see that proved inside.

"Who are you?"

"C'mon, Iggy, is that how you talk to such a sweet little girl as myself?"

A smile crawled on the man's face as he stepped back and held his arms open. Angel ran forward, hugging him tightly.

"Ho-ly shit! Damn, Angel! You grew up fast! How've you been?"

"Eh, ups and downs, you know."

"Yeah. Hey, where's Gaz. And… who's this?"

It was my turn to step forward. I stuck my hand out to introduce myself, but Angel shook her head for me to stop.

"I'm Damian. I, uh, met Angel a few days ago. We thought it would be safe to travel together."

"Safe? Why do you need to be safe?"

Angel sighed and closed the door, walking over to a near-by chair, sitting down.

"Iggy, it's Itex. They want us again."

"And? When was the last time Itex actually posed a threat to us? How many times have we kicked their asses?"

Iggy was pouring a glass of gin for himself, sitting down across from Angel.

"It's not like that this time. They've got better materials now. They've made weapons and teleporting devices like we've never seen! It's like they're a few hundred years ahead of everyone else in the way of technology!"

"Well, shit. What's your plan?"

"Well, Gasman wasn't exactly on board, which is why he didn't come, but I'm trying to get everyone together."

Iggy put his glass down, letting his breath go before he spoke.

"That'll be pretty damn hard. Nudge's making a name for herself across the pond, no one knows where Fang went, and Max is still looking for him. There's Dylan, but…"

"I know, Iggy. I don't quite trust him either."

Iggy down his glass, placing it back on the table before leaning back in his chair.

"So, where do we start?"

"Well, first, you can explain a few things."

Iggy looked at me with a slightly annoyed face.

"Yeah? Like what?"

Angel cut me off, preferring to ask him in less of a confrontational manner.

"We've heard that you made a name for yourself here. One-Eyed Jack. What's that about?"

Iggy chuckled, pouring more gin.

"So you heard about my little money making abilities? Well, what I do isn't technically illegal. I get paid for silence, so to speak. Everyone around here has some dirt on their pretty little suits. All I have to do is name a price. I charge monthly, and if I don't get paid, my lips start moving. And a lot of people don't want my lips to move."

"Alright, what about the name? One-Eyed Jack?"

Iggy let loose a short laugh, taking off his glasses, revealing that his left eye was one of glass.

"Really, Angel? You don't remember that 'in the land of the blind, the one-eyed Jack is king'?"

"Oh my god!"

"Don't worry, it happened a few years ago. This one prick didn't like my prices, so he nicked me. What was I supposed to do? Tell the Mounties that I got cut for blackmailing a guy? Either way, he got what was coming to him. I didn't even need to lift a finger or open my mouth. His 'competition' found out on their own."

"'Competition'?"

"He was a meth dealer who started selling on the wrong side of town. I'm not the only one whose loose lips can sink ships."

I shifted in place, not too sure what to think of this guy. He sounded shady, but also seemed like a good guy. I'd have to trust Angel on this one, and she seemed to trust him.

"Alright. Now that that's out of the way, where should we go?"

Iggy sat up, drinking his second glass.

"I don't know. We could try going to Arizona. Maybe Dr. Martinez knows anything about where Max went. I'd need to bring quite a bit of booze with me, though."

"Why's that."

Both of them spoke simultaneously.

"Ella."

"My ex." Iggy added.

-**So now we have Iggy on board! What do you think of Iggy's little business? Leave a comment to express your thoughts! Also, a little trivia about Iggy: Iggy's name and birth name are a reference to rock star Iggy Pop, who was born James Newell Osterburg. James was Iggy's birth name. Hope you enjoyed that little fun fact as much as you enjoyed this chapter!**-


	6. Chapter 5: Ashes to Ashes

-**And then there were three! How will they deal with Ella's reaction to seeing Iggy again? Also, I'd like to remind you about character submissions, and that you can actually send me a private message straight to me, and I'll see what I can do about adding them in!**-

Chapter 5: Ashes to Ashes

Iggy's actually pretty funny once you get past the whole not-exactly-criminal shenanigans.

"…and he threw the fucking book at me and told me 'Your finances are fine for Americans, but there aren't as many retards in Canada as there are in the US'!"

Scratch that. The guy was hilarious. Angel and I were cracking up the whole way from Quèbec to Thunder Bay. Since this was in Ontario, Angel remembered that this was my original destination and had asked me why it had been my planned landing zone.

"Well, I was just trying to keep going north. I'd probably think of a new place to go after Quèbec, maybe Greenland. Just somewhere Itex wouldn't bother looking."

"I hear ya. Why do you think I left for Canada? I could make way more in Vegas than Quèbec. Speaking of which, you guys wanna stop there, maybe spend a night? I got a nice chunk of change with me. Just say the words."

My brows furrowed and I turned my head to face Angel. She, too, was contemplating the decision. Vegas was a sinkhole for morality, but comfortable beds and great food were hard to pass up. Sure, Iggy would probably get drunk off his ass, but a night of reprieve never killed anybody, right? Well, it probably did, but at least I'd die happy, in my warm bed as I fed on shrimp and steak. My stomach growled loud enough for Angel to hear it from her place twenty feet from me, causing her to laugh until hers followed suit. We reverted to our previous state of laughter, turning south to finally leave Canada and reenter the United States.

We flew into Minnesota from Thunder Bay within an hour, deciding that we were done for the time being. Vegas would have to wait another day before we got there. In the mean time, we'd be wandering Minnesota for a park or something, despite Iggy urging us to sleep at a motel. Just because we had money, Angel reasoned, didn't mean we had to spend it. Vegas would cost a lot as it was. We could spend another night in the treetops. Granted, Iggy was out of practice, but he relented. He fell asleep quickly, which gave me the chance to ask Angel a question that was sitting in the back of my mind since we meet Iggy.

_Hey, Angel?_

_Hm?_

_I know that you probably wouldn't use your abilities on people you care about, but… your brother, and Iggy, and everyone else… are they resistant to it, or did you just not use it on them? Because I'm not sure if it's possible to build up a resistance to our abilities or not._

_Well… I tried it once on Max, and she broke right through it, so I'm not really sure._

_Hm… well, I was just curious. If we run into other telepaths, then Iggy may or may not be in danger. We need to keep these things in mind._

I sat back on my branch, looking up at the rising moon.

_I can't sleep again. I'll take watch._

…

Sound and Fury had finished teleporting to Quèbec, stepping forward into the night air. Shirtless, they both were trying their best to not shiver and maintain their manly composure. Bumps were raising on their skin, and soon their teeth were chattering. Clearly, they hadn't planned this ahead of time. Giving in, they shivered as they walked down the street, following the coordinates the Wendigo executives gave them, which eventually led to a strip club.

"Uh… they sure they got it right? This doesn't really seem like their speed…"

"These guys are brilliant, Fury. I doubt they would fail that badly. Besides, looks can be deceiving. Maybe they were trying to throw us off by going in. Wendigo told us that they were highly intelligent telepaths, so maybe they're just thinking a few steps ahead."

"Highly intelligent is debatable, but they are resourceful. Resourceful enough to throw us off track with this. But!" fury struck a pose, pointing at the club and staring at it, yelling a little more than the average person would, which would be at all. "We shall not be bested by such evil doers! We are Sound and Fury, the guardians of this plane of existence! No psychic malevolence will trump us!"

"Yes! Right you are!" Sound now stood next to Fury, copying his pose exactly. "We shall end their debauchery for the sake of mankind!"

Fury broke his pose, intrigued.

"Hey, that was pretty good. We should write that one down."

"Yeah, maybe use it the next time we see them?"

"Definitely. It was better than the Jesse and James routine we tried earlier. I'm glad we're working on our material, y'know?"

"Hey, when we get some down time, want to go over lines?"

"Yeah, our pool's kinda shallow."

Fury looked away from Sound and back to the club's entrance. As they were both eighteen, they could get in with no problem. However, this would be an ultimate test to their self-control. He led the way into the club only to be stopped seconds after entering the aura of bass-dropping and pole dancing. The man who stopped them was in a business suit and wore a nametag that read "Larry".

"Hey, sorry guys, but we don't need you until tomorrow night, but I'm glad the memo got out. We don't really have a lot of entertainers for Ladies' Night, and I really need the revenue from it."

"No, sir, we're not-"

"Hey, Fury. You think we can make a lot off that?"

"Shut up. Anyway, sir, we're actually looking for some people. We were hoping you could help us."

Larry looked at the two's attire, or lack there of, and then back to them. "Um, what kind of help are you looking for? We've probably got the right people for your problem."

"No, no, sir, two kids came in here, about fifteen. Do you know where they went?"

"I'm sorry, sure, but minor's aren't permitted in this establishment."

"I know, but it happened about ten hours ago. I need to know where they went?"

"Why? There parent's looking for them or something?"

"Yeah, something like that. It's just important that we know where they went, because something bad could happen if they're not found."

Larry sighed, grabbing a drink from one of the passing refreshment servers. "You guys are in some trouble with One-Eyed Jack, aren't you?"

"One-Eyed Jack?"

"Yeah, he's one mean mutant with the cash and detail to back him up. Apparently, some people were here earlier, looking to do business with him. Two of them. Those might be the kids you're talking about."

"Mutant?" Fury's right eyebrow rose. This development intrigued him. "What kind?"

"Winged. Bastard's blind as a bat, but he can see everything, somehow. Might have some sort of sixth sense or something."

"Thanks."

"Can I get you boys a drink?"

"That won't be neces-"

"Thanks! Hit me up!"

"Sound, now's not the ti- oh, for fuck's sake!"

Fury placed his face in his right hand, shaking his head as Sound was… engaging with the entertainers, placing a few bills between the fabric and their skin.

…

The military refers to staying up to make sure everyone else sleeps safely as "fire watch". How appropriate.

I woke to the smell of smoldering ashes. Light and smoke were irritating my eyes, and the air was being choked out of my lungs. I coughed, sitting up on my branch as my eyes watered. Looking down, I could see that my tree, and Angel's and Isaac's, had been set ablaze. Kerosene could be smelled, mingling with the smoke. I'm not sure when I had fallen asleep, but doing so was potentially a fatal mistake.

I leaned forward, helping me stand on my branch. Taking a deep breath, I ran across it and jumped, grabbing on to Angel's branch. The vibrations from my arms connecting with the tree woke her up, almost knocking her over. She started coughing as soon as she woke, dazed and confused. I shook her shoulder lightly to get her attention. Her eyes are squinted, as were mine, in order to see me, and as soon as she did, she looked down at the fire. Her breathing quickened and she scooted back against the trunk of her tree. Clearly, she chose the wrong time to panic.

"Angel, Angel, you need to stop now. Calm down. Take a few breaths. I need you to jump down for me, okay? Try to catch enough speed to fly. Get somewhere safe while I -get Iggy up."

"Wh-what? Where's Iggy? How'd this happen?"

"Angel, I need you to calm down. Just try and fly down, alright? I'm getting Iggy now, just please try for me, okay?"

"Okay. Okay…"

I left Angel on her own at the point, wondering whether or not if that was a good idea. I jumped from the tree, beating my wings as I fell in a desperate attempt to obtain flight. Just a few feet above the ground, I did so, letting me fly to Iggy. He was on a lower branch, and the fire was creeping up to him. I started shaking him to wake him up, but to no avail. He'd had a bit more to drink that night, making this task almost impossible. With no better plan, I dragged Iggy with me to the edge of the branch and flopped over, hitting the ground rolling. Upon impact, I could feel one of my ribs cracking, a feeling I was used to but still abhorred. Gritting my teeth, I didn't let go of Iggy until we stopped rolling, which is when he finally woke up.

"What the fuck?"

"Iggy, I need you to get up and get over to Angel. Can you do that with me?"

Iggy nodded, standing up whilst holding his head. Naturally, he started coughing, but I doubt his headache had anything to do with the arson. Helping him stumble over to where I last saw Angel, We could see the silhouettes of two people, one on the ground being beaten helplessly by the other. Fearing the worst, I rushed Iggy forward, only to watch the one on the bottom simply vanish. We kept moving forward, watching the one from the stop stand up and approach us. I balled up my fists, ready to fight until we saw Angel step out of the haze in front of us.

"We need to get out of here. I just dealt with another Itex goon, the one that did this. He's got one of those teleporting things, too."

"Wait, you just beat the crap out of that guy? We thought-"

"What? Just 'cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm some sort of damsel in distress!"

Iggy spoke up, coughing a little.

"_Coumph!_ Angel, I'm actually going by your _C-Coumph-Coumph!_ track record."

"Oh, shut it! Point is that we've gotta go now!"

I sighed, looking over at Iggy.

"Vegas still sound good? I doubt they'd try anything like this in Sin City."

The two of us peered over at Angel, who was pouting and crossing her arms. We stood there, next to the fire for a few seconds before she threw down her arms.

"Fine! But we leave now!"

-**An attack by arson? Sound getting a lap dance? When will I stop doing these cheesy end-story questions? Read, review, and find out for yourself!**-


	7. Chapter 6: A Faux Pas of the Mind

-**Death by fire is a hell of a way to go. Good thing no one died! Except maybe a bird or two… As always, read, review, and enjoy! And don't forget about character submissions!**-

Chapter 6: A Faux Pas of the MindI was running. Fuck, not this dream again…

_I looked down as soon as I knew I as dreaming, relieved to find that I hadn't grown a pair of breasts again. These dreams were torturous; they gave me the illusion of control, which only made the things that would occur that much more frightening. I couldn't stop my legs, though, allowing the fear to flood back in. But there was something else sitting in their, trailing behind the fear. I started thinking about how I felt when people called me a freak, about how Angel acted back at the club, about what Iggy has done, about what _I_ have done. That underlying feeling, what I could now identify as rage, was coming up to a boil as I looked at myself, watching my arm muscles contort through the fur growing around my eyes. The ground seemed to move further and further away from me as feathers retreated into my wings, turning from their velvety silk texture to one of leather. I almost smiled to let my enlarging canines feel the cool night air. Anger filled my veins as a sent filled the air. A target._

_I sprinted towards the sent of my prey, in a fashion not quite animalistic, but not quite human. The thrill of the hunt enthralled me, and I let out roar of excitement. The victim was in sight now, running at the sound of madness. Their hair was longer, blonde, shaking about as they ran. I continued to breath in their scent, only to find no traces of fear; the only thing I could detect was some sort of twisted humor. I came closer to my victim, listening to her laughter, watching her snap her wings open and taking off. I followed suit, beating my leathery wing to take off. She held a speed advantage over me, even doing a few tricks as she avoided me, like some sort of game. But she had a pattern to her tricks, flying just close enough for me reach out and grab her, but fast enough that once I thought about it, I was too late. So I just stopped, treading air until she realized that I wouldn't go any further. She turned to me, showing me that she wore Angel's face, but this was not the winged girl I was getting to know._

"_Wow, kitty boy. And here I thought you knew how to show a girl a good time…"_

_This Angel's eyes had an iridescent purple tint to them, a light lazily trailing behind whenever her head moved. She smiled, a darker purple light leaking from within her mouth, like her body was full of some sort of energy she just couldn't control._

"_You like what you see? Come and get it!"_

_She took off again, and I involuntarily chased her once more. This time, however, she genuinely tried to avoid me, dodging every advance I made, picking up the pace until I knew I couldn't get to her. She was laughing again, but this time, it was sending a chill through every bone in my body. It was as if, this time, she were mocking me, intent on crushing me. A feint trail of purple followed her as she flew, fading out of my sight. I was breathing heavily, feeling a massive difference in air pressure now. It was colder now, not only from the height difference, but the stare she was giving me, something I could see all the way from where I was. I could hear her laugh, as if she were right next to me, and once she stopped, she appeared right in front of me, purple eyes staring into mine as she wrapped her arms around my neck, feigning affection._

"_I'll let you in on a little secret, kitty. Everyone has power, and everyone has secrets. But no one can handle either one. Not me, not you. We may try, we may put on a pretty little face, and struggle for years, but we'll never be in control. Just like you."_

_A sharp pain came from the area between my jaw and my chin. This fake Angel had shoved her nails into my flesh, and I watched as the same purple light shot out of my wound…_

I bolted up, holding my hands over where my wound was. I fucking hated my dreams. I looked around our motel room, sitting up from the floor. Iggy and Angel were still in their beds, sleeping soundly except for that cute light snoring that Angel did. I took the next two minutes to calm my shortened breathing, sitting up against one of the motel room's walls. This constant lack of sleep couldn't be healthy in any way. How did anime characters do it all the time? Maybe I'd ask the Bleach Boys the next time we saw them.

I stood up, walking into the bathroom. I looked down into the sink before turning it on, collecting some of the water and applying it to my face. I could feel something light find its way onto my left shoulder, and the bathroom dropped about five degrees in temperature. Slowly, I looked up at the mirror, noticing first the purple light reflecting off of the mirror, a twisted smile below it. The fake Angel opened her mouth to speak, flecks of purple coming out of it like ashes now, unlike its flowing nature from before.

"_Don't think too hard on it, kitty, just accept it. No one can handle real power."_

I twisted around to face the fake Angel, but it she had disappeared again. This tormentor would return, however. I knew it. Once my mind realized that there was something it I didn't like or was afraid of, it would remember it, copy it, detail by detail, and use it for days, weeks on end, until I couldn't handle it for much longer. Then it would switch gears, bringing up something I hadn't thought of for months, and the cycle would repeat. And my own fears would be the fuel to the fire.

I remember talking about this to a friend of mine. Well, I guess I could call him a friend. He'd been studying psychology and computer science since he was twelve. He was already applying for a college when I met him at sixteen. He'd be nineteen now, and I'm sure he made it to that college. He tried explaining it to me with massive words I couldn't comprehend. Switching tactics, he told me that all dreams and hallucinations have some sort of meaning, like an encrypted message on a CD. The only person who could decrypt it would be the one experiencing it, in this case, me. But no-one can just get on a computer and read out the code. One needs practice and then the knowledge of the delicate things they're working on. I knew the code by heart; it was about damn time I got to someone who could fix it.

…

Pulling his wrists from each other, he broke the chains the bound him in place. The sirens were grating on his nerves, causing him to grit his teeth as he simply walked his way through the Wendigo facility. He could hear the footsteps of rushing guardians, all yelling in Portuguese. Smirking, he turned his olive-skinned self to face them, rooting himself in place. About five of them showed up, each pointing their dated rifles at him. It almost made him laugh. The ordered him to get down, his hands on the ground. He simply stepped forward. Another order was given, now emphasized with the shaking of a rifle. He ignored them further, now sticking his hand out, two fingers forward and his thumb up. One guard fired a shot at the ground by his feet. Fully smiling now, he spoke.

"Eu quero que você sofra."

He bent his thumb down, like a child pretending to fire a gun, sending out a large arc of electricity into one of the sounding sirens. The electricity traveled through it wiring and out of the siren closest to the guards, arcing to their rifles, electrocuting each one. He stood their, not relenting with the surge of electricity until he saw their corpses catch fire, filling the room with the sour scent of burning flesh. Satisfied, he simply shrugged his shoulders, walking right out the front door and into the country of Brazil.

...

Sound and Fury were wondering around Thunder Bay, consued and once again shivering. One would think that they'd put on shirts already, but this just wouldn't suit their current attire. Grabbing their shoulders and rubbing them to keep warm in the Canadian winter night, they kept asking passing individuals if they'd seen a trio of winged mutants in the area. They were mostly met with jokes about anime or told to stay away from their children. Defeated at the moment, they walked into a French restruant, hoping just for warm food and friendly service.

"I'm sorry, sirs, but we cannot serve you this evening."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you clearly lack any sort of upper body attire.

"Look, sir, we've been wandering around for two days with no shirts and torn sandals. We haven't even gotten the chance to eat yet."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but we still cannot help you."

"Well, then, perhaps I can."

Sound and Fury turned to their left, listening to the ironically French-accented voice. The man took off his own coat and lifted one from the rack by the door, handing one to each of the Wendigo employees.

"There, now you've got the proper attire. Where're you boys from, anyway. You clearly aren't from around here." He man then quickly diverted his attention to the maitre d. "By the way, your Brandade de Morue leaves much to be desired."

Fury simply nodded, waiting for the man's attention to return.

"We're from Las Angeles, sir."

"You're a long way from home. Any way I can help you two?"

"Well, we're looking for some friends, and we were hoping that maybe someone knew where they went. They're, well… a bit different."

"Different?"

"They're mutants. They're all winged. We were supposed to meet them here, but we haven't seen them anywhere. Have you seen anyone like that?"

The man shook his head, leading them to his table.

"No, I'm sorry. I have not. But, I can make up for your lost time with a fine meal. Look at this menu. Whatever you want is yours. Don't worry about the prices."

Sound and Fury's stomachs growled as their eyes widened.

"Why, thank you sir! That is the most generous anyone's been to us this whole time!"

"Yeah, well, I'm just not a prick to foreigners. Next time you travel, do your best to not let people know you're American, alright?"

"Thanks so much!"

The man stood up from his seat, bowing slightly.

"Now, if you could please wait here, I must go inform our host of your inclusion to my table."

Walking away from the two, whose eyes were glues to their menus, the man hushed his voice down, speaking into his Itex-made earpiece and dropping the French accent.

"We've got two Wendigo idiots in a restruant up in Thunder Bay. Course of action?"

…

Angel was the first to wake up, stretching her arms out as she yawned, a few strands of hair stuck to her face. She smacked her lips to loosen up her jaws, eyes closed as she was waking herself up. Opening her eyes, she almost had a heart attack when she saw me sitting down, drinking water from a paper cup. She cluthed the patch of skin over her heart, trying to calm herself down. I would have laughed if she wasn't so freaked out.

"Um, Angel? You okay?"

"Er, yeah… just scared me is all."

"Yeah, I've got that effect on people."

I stood up, pouring the rest of my water down my throat. Walking over to Iggy, I tripped on some ripped carpetting, colliding my skull with his. Within three seconds, he was awake, and we were both clutching our forheads. Iggy sat up, wildlt waving his free arm as he did so.

"Shit, I'm up! I'm up!"

Iggy slid out of his sheets, stepping out of his bed and standing up. He put his shirt on that was sitting on the back of the chair where I'd been sitting, walking to the front door as he did so. He ttok a deep breath before opening it.

"We'd better get ready if we're going to Vegas today."

While everyone was getting ready, I tapped Iggy's shoulder, seeing as he was probably the one who was in charge at this point.

"Hey, Iggy, I've been thinking… I've got a friend in Oregon who might be able to help us out. It's on the way to Vegas, and I promise you, this guy can very easily wipe us from any security system we've passed by. Make us invisible. It' worth the stop."

Iggy stopped packing, straightening up to face me, despite his eye looking over my shoulder.

"How trustworthy is he?"

"He's gotten Itex off my back a few times. Erased my creation data, too."

Iggy stood there for a second, contemplating the decision prsented to him. Finally, he let out a deep breath, nodding as he spoke.

"Fine. Yeah, we'll stop by, but as soon as anything starts looking bad, we bug out, alright?"

Fifteen minutes later, we were in the air. This flight, though, wasn't the fun, joking one like last time. We were all strung from the attack last night, let alone the fact that I was running off of very little sleep due to my nightmares. I was tempted to sing again, thinking about Land of Confusion by Genesis, but I thought better of it. Well, I thought that Isaac may laugh at it, so I just didn't. But the silence was deafening, and I was desperate to land once we crossed the Oregon state line. Oxnard was now only about half an hour from us. Sound finally came from in front of me from Iggy, asking me for directions. I directed him to the street that I remembered, looking for that piss-yellow house that my cohort resided in.

"This is it? I'm sorry, but I'd rather not live in a house that was pi-"

"Piss-yellow? Yeah, me neither."

When we stepped onto the porch, I immediately looked to my right, nodding at the camera hidden as the eye of a garden gnome. The door opened on its own, followed by a voice coming from up a flight of stairs.

"It's about time you came back! Who're your friends? More mutants? Family?"

I chuckled, walking towards the stairs.

"Ah, shut it, Isaac. Just some travel buddies. We were hoping you could do us a favor."

"Wipe you guys clean? Consider it done."

I stepped over the finally step, turning to my left and opening the white door, seeing the familiar sight of an entire wall lined with computer monitors and a tall, blonde teen sitting in a rolling chair in front of them.

"You're not even welcoming your guests at the door anymore?"

"When you've got your eyes on the world, it's hard to see who's at your door."

"The gnome had no problem."

Isaac laughed, turning around in his chair and standing up, sticking a hand out for me to grabit and bro-hug him. Doing so, I tried to not hit his glasses, which seemed to be larger than the last time I saw him.

"Guys still calling you Weasel?"

"Yeah, but I've turned it around, made it my own. I kind of like it, y'know? Having my own monicker and all."

I chuckled turning around and extending my right arm at Angel and Iggy, who were standing their awkwardly.

"Isaac, or, rather, Weasel, this is Angel, and this is Iggy. I'm traveling with them, trying to help them find their friends. While we're here, we were hoping you could kill two birds with one stone. Think you can find the others somehow?"

"You ask me like you doubt that I can."

"When have I ever doubted you. I jut want to see if you can do it under a timer."

"You're on!"

Isaac turned back to his monitors, typing into six different keyboards.

"Kitchen's open. Make yourselves comfortable."

-**Yay, more Wendigo involvement! **_**And **_**we've got two new characters! Anyway, this chapter and the next were meant to be one chapter called "A City of Evil", put school has been getting in the way, so this chapter was split in half. Otherwise, you know the drill: read, review, and enjoy!**-


	8. Chapter 7: Through Honest Eyes

-**Sorry about having to cut the last chapter in half, but school is a pretty high priority of mine. And, sadly, the chapter must be cut again, thus making "A City of Evil" the **_**next**_** chapter. As always, read, review, enjoy, and don't forget about character submissions!**-

Chapter 7: Through Honest Eyes

Angel and Iggy made their way downstairs to the kitchen, leaving Isaac and I alone.

"I know you, Damian. Clearing yourselves out of security tapes couldn't have been the only reason you came here. It's the nightmare again, isn't it?"

"Again? It's never stopped."

"I know, but it always varies, doesn't it? It's never quite the same dream. Sit down."

Isaac rolled a chair towards me, prompting me to sit down. I did so, looking forward at my blonde-haired psychologist friend. He'd always wanted to go further into psychology, entering more into the field of psychiatry. He'd always wanted to help people, but he also always wanted to make sure he was safe, hence the cameras. He loved people, but he just didn't trust them.

"What have they been recently?"

"Well, mostly about that girl I'm traveling with. The first one was different, though. I was her, and I was running from me. I, or it, caught up to me, Angel, and didn't ease up. Just like normal."

"I see."

"The other dream was closer to what I've told you about. I changed, and I was chasing Angel. But this time, she was taunting me, wanting me to attack. I tried, but she kept avoiding me, mocking me. She had this… this purple energy of some sort coming from her eyes and her mouth. She told me that no one could handle power or secrets, and the stabbed me. I didn't bleed, though. That purple stuff was in me, too."

Isaac sat up, leaning forward now.

"Hmm… what I see, and this is my opinion, is that there's something you see in yourself that you see in Angel, something you can't quite understand. Naturally, you fear what you can't understand, and you vilify it. And this girl, I can see, is someone you don't want to hurt. Your beast only attacks those you care for, in one way or another. That we've already addressed. Think about the things you have in common with Angel. What can you think of?"

"Well, we're both telepaths."

"Alright. And are you comfortable with your own telepathy?"

"I'm fine with the ability. But… I don't know. I have some reservations about using it at times, whereas Angel's telepathy comes to her like second nature. From what I've seen, she can be rather manipulative when she wants to be. That thought… it just rubs me the wrong way, y'know?"

"M-hm. And you think that might happen to you?"

"I'm not sure. The Angel in my dreams told me that no-one could handle real power, not even her. I can't handle that form I go into. I can't even think straight. I think, maybe, that her telepathy might be the same thing to her as my form. We're afraid of what we can do, but the difference is how we deal with it."

"I see. And how do you plan on dealing with it?"

"How should I know? You're the psycho-whatever."

"Technically, I don't have a doctorate, so I'm not anything officially."

"Whatever. Right now, all I wanted to know is how to get rid of these dreams. I've barely gotten any sleep in the past four days."

"Well, I'd normally suggest biweekly therapy meetings, but you don't have that kind of time, now, do you?"

"No, I don't. So what else would you suggest."

"Honestly? I suggest you guy finish finding your friends, and then come back so we can do this properly." Isaac looked back at his screens, smirking a little. "We've got three hours before it's done. You should go get something to eat. Well, something real, anyway. I know I'd get tired of Snickers bars and medium-rare rat after a while."

I chuckled, making my way to the doorway. "You want me to bring you up something?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I ate about an hour before you guys got here."

"Yeah, but you eat like a bird."

"We don't all need to survive on five-thousand calorie diets."

"What can I say? People would kill for my metabolism. And my wings, and my tail, and my ears. But mostly my metabolism."

Isaac just laughed and shook his head, punching a few keys into the closest keyboard.

"Go entertain my guests for me."

"Ass."

I stepped down the stairs, turning to my left, into the kitchen. Angel and Iggy were busying themselves, making a tall stack of sandwiches. Normally, I would have reservations about eating copious amounts of food from a host, but this was Isaac, a guy who knew just what I was, inside and out. He knew just how much we would be eating. He didn't exactly care, either, since his family was richer than God himself. Why he would stay in this little accommodation with the amount of money at his exposal was beyond me, but I guess his money went into his equipment. I scratched one of my feline ears and sat down analyzing the pre-made sandwiches.

"Salami with mustard and garlic paste? Dibs!"

Both Iggy and Angel rose an eyebrow.

"Uh… we made that one by mistake, man. You sure you want to eat it?"

"Hell yeah! All it's missing is a bit of pesto an-"

"Easy there, Steel Stomach. My inner chef is wanting to strangle you right now."

I leaned back in my chair, teetering on the back two legs. I bit into my abomination sandwich, the distinct flavors in my mouth clashing against each other, making each other stand out even more. I've never understood why people enjoyed food that blended together; why would you add something to your food to make it just taste the same? Clashing flavors were the best, in my opinion. Like dipping a piece of onion into vinegar, and then into sugar. I'm not kidding. Try it some time.

"We've got a few hours to kill. Now what?"

I didn't get an answer for another three hours, when we said our goodbyes to Isaac and flew out the door.

…

Bruised and cut, Sound and Fury limped out of the clinic they'd gone to after Itex had stormed the restaurant. It was ugly, with those flying wolf robot things crashing through walls and the roof. Sound and Fury did what they could to fight them off, protecting the people inside of the restaurant, until the last mechanical beast had been slain. They loved the praise they had received for saving them, but felt embarrassed later, feeling terrible for feeling great about what they felt they should have done anyway. Honestly, they had joined Wendigo to be heroes, to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. Feeling glorious about it was dishonorable.

When they finally put personal glory aside, they took a considerable amount of bodily damage, but felt that it was worth it. When asked if there was anything that could be done for them, they both agreed on a visit to the clinic.

"I can't stand those bastards." Fury readjusted his new fingerless glove as he walked out of the building, looking over at Sound as he spoke. "Who would attack innocent civilians just to get to their targets? People are _not_ just collateral damage! You see, Sound? This is why we joined Wendigo!"

Sound looked up at his partner, a slight look of concern on his face.

"Yeah, but… isn't Wendigo in the same business as Itex? Isn't this why we're hunting down Itex experiments? Why wouldn't Wendigo do the same thing? And what do they want with Itex material? Companies only do the to get a leg up on their competition. Who's to say Wendigo doesn't just want them to recreate or re-purpose them?"

Fury stopped walking, looking at his feet in contemplation.

"But… we're fighting for the good of others… isn't that the right thing to do?"

…

He held in the smoke from the cigar, letting the cloud of toxicity to linger a bit before exhaling. He hadn't gotten his chains completely off yet, but that would come later. For the time being, he needed a backup plan, one he was currently working on with one Erasmus "Arrow" Trias.

"Look, kid, I know a lot of mutants with a lot of power, but not a lot of them are willing to just let someone straight from the lab waltz right in. There is one, though, provided I can actually get a hold of him. He's American, and he was in New Mexico the last time anyone heard from him. It's only been a few months. He shouldn't be too far."

"His name. What is it?"

Arrow took in another drag from his cigar, inhaling an exhaling once more. They weren't the best cigars he had; these ones were Jamaican, just a few steps below Cuban quality. But he made do with what he had, looking up at his young client.

"I don't have a real name on him yet, but he's a credible source. He's taken on a lot of other mutants for prote-"

"A name. Give me one."

Arrow shook his head, putting the cigar down.

"Guy goes by the name 'Fang'."

-**I know what some of you are thinking: OMGOMGOMGOMGFANGFANGFANGFANG! Yup, the enigmatic birdman is back in black! As always, read, review, and enjoy!**-


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